Naruto - A Devil's Deal
by ferlion
Summary: After a mission gone wrong, Naruto Uzumaki is offered a deal he just can't refuse.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first time writing something in a long while. You'll have to forgive my errors and spelling mistakes, my sometimes poor grammar, and all that.

I've noticed a glut of time travel fics lately, and I wanted to try my hand at it, as a few ideas popped up. So. Let's do this

With that being said, I don't own Naruto.

It was the smell more than anything. The sweet smell of cooked meat. The next thing he acknowledged was the popping of fat, which seemed to pierce through the ever present ringing in his ears, and then the stench of burnt cloth. Then the pain hit. A thousand little fires, across his entire being, ate away at his sanity. The boys bright blue eyes attempted to widen in response, his dizzy mind drinking in the cloudy gray skies and wisps of smoke drifting upwards. A gasp attempted to rip itself from a mouth that wouldn't open properly. With effort, he turned his head. The earth, he dimly noted, was charred, and red embers danced precariously over blackened soil.

Another gasp. This time, something came out. Thick, a metallic taste vaguely noted, the unexpected fluid sent the boy into a fit, his unruly blond hair raising from the ground with every cough. _"I need to find the others" _thought the boy, before another wave of pain wracked his body, dispelling any such thoughts from his head.

And still with that smell. That horrible smell. It hung thick in the air, and with every whiff, the boy's stomach seemed to grow heavier and heavier. _"What's this feeling?"_ he vaguely wondered _"This dread. It's like. It's like I'm afraid. Why would I be afraid?"_

Another wave of pain. More coughing. More fluid. Looking to the sky, his vision blurry, he grasped at the thoughts just out of reach. Drowsiness washed over him. His eyes, so very heavy, began to close. Darkness edged its way, drowning out the infinite sky.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

"**Pathetic"**

A voice, heavy with malice, laced with eons of hatred pierced through the boys mind, and like a flood, a rejuvenating energy rushed through his body. His eyes widened as his body jerked.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Red energy danced across his vision, roping and twisting, starkly visible across the dreary sky. The pain was still there. But it was an afterthought. An annoyance. And still that smell. That damnable smell. With a twist of his shoulders, the boy propped himself on his elbows and turned towards the smell. He wished he hadn't. Face down, a blackened corpse lay on the ground, unidentifiable but for small bits of a red vest peeking through the silt, and a hint of pink on top of the head.

There was no more gray after that. No more blackened earth. No more pink hair .No more thoughts of potential fears. All the boy saw was red, flooding his vision and drowning out all else. Rage swept through him. Bones cracked, and his hands ached. His skin, already blackened and marred, began to smoke.

The boy didn't notice. All he saw was red.

"**This isn't how it end's."**

That voice. There it was again. Oily, powerful. A voice to be listened to, even in the boy's anger riddled state. **"A bargain, boy, will I make with you", **said the voice, its baritone fluttering through his mind like a hurricane, sweeping aside the rage. **"A child of prophecy. Trained by A Gallant Sage, his dream passed down to you. You, so foolishly wish to change what cannot be changed. To break a cycle that has existed far longer than even I. A bargain do I offer thee, boy. A chance to try again. A chance to fulfill the dreams passed onto you."**

As the boy listened to the voice whispering honeyed promises and candied propositions, clarity began to return to his mind. Accepting such a deal... He wasn't sure he could pay such a price. A deep breath.. It was a mistake. The smell hit him again. With a heave, his stomach emptied itself.

"**Why bother putting it off, boy. We both know you'll accept. Your dreams of a peaceful world. Your dreams of acknowledgement. Even of being the precious Hokage... They were never really YOUR dreams boy. The only dream you had is nothing more than a husk of meat, still smoking from the barbeque"**

The boy shook his head, a sob escaping his lips as he crawled to the body. It was all he had the energy to do. _"It's not what she would want"_ the boy thought back viciously. A deep chuckle reverberated within the boy's mind, seemingly shacking his bones. **"What she would want? Pathetic. Always pathetic. It's always what "she" would want with you boy." **A dark feeling of amusement swept through his mind... **"But not today. Today, boy.. You learn what it means to be selfish. Accept the deal. Take the prize. Grasp your dreams. It won't cost you much. Why, one could even say it won't cost you a thing"**

Blue eyes gazed down at the corpse._ How the smell ate at him. _He knew the voice was right. Gazing down, he knew there was no option. Not for him. He could put it off. He could think about it. But he knew, in the end. A man with no dreams, after all, wasn't a man worth existing.

And so, with a determined sigh, the boy stood, his frame cloaked in a garishly orange cloth. Blue eyes filled with steel took one last glace at the gray sky, his hands running through char covered blond hair.

With a sigh, the boy did something he had sworn to himself he would never do. He made a deal with the devil, as it were, and in that instant, he knew there was no going back..

And with a swirl of red, Naruto Uzumaki, Genin of the Hidden Lead Village, and container of the Nine Tails Fox was no more.


	2. An Old Man's Heavy Heart

Don't own Naruto

Deep within the Land of Fire rested a village. The Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konaha. A village of ninja. Similar villages were spread across most of the nations, each housing the military might of their respective host. Naturally, such villages required lots of income to remain operational.

To obtain this funding, the Ninja of the villages underwent missions for the public, from clearing out bandits to catching stray cats. The life of a Ninja was really quite glamourous.

This particular village, in this particular nation, was one of the strongest villages just a scant 6 years ago, when the dreaded Nine Tails demon attacked, nearly destroying the village, ending the lives of entire squadrons of Ninja, and claiming the life of the fourth Hokage, the then leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And while the village still stood, the might Nine Tails was too powerful to be vanquished. Instead, he was sealed within a tiny infant, hardly an hour old. The previous Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, reclaimed the mantle of leadership that night, and in an effort to protect the boy, made it law that none should speak of the wicked monstrosity within the then young Naruto Uzumaki.

With no parents to house or care for young Naruto, Sarutobi dipped into the village funds and provided caretakers and housing for the boy. It pained the old man's heart to have to dismiss caretaker after caretaker due to abuse and scorn, as they knew what lay within Nartuo, and in their eyes he was to blame for the death of their friends and family.

As the years passed, the village was rebuilt, and young Naruto, while not the smartest child around, quickly learned the skills needed to care for himself. Living alone in an apartment the Lord 3rd had procured, the boy eeked by on a meager existence of Ramen and water, rarely indulging in the pleasures of milk and meat, often unable to afford what he considered the greater luxuries of life. At the tender age of six, young Naruto was well versed in fending for himself.

His apartment was sparsely furnished. No posters adorned the walls, nor did toys litter the floor like you would expect to see with a child of such a young age. Naruto had none. You see, while Naruto himself was unaware that inside him was locked the dreaded fox that had destroyed the village, 6 years isn't so long a time, and the memories of those slighted are long lasting indeed, and all they saw when looking at young Nartuo was the beast itself. Naruto learned early on that having such luxuries would only end in heartache as they were ripped away and destroyed before his eyes. His door, he learned, was better left unlocked, so as to not have it broken down. His table, with a single chair, was held together with tape and a broken leg held up with a stack of old books.

Young Naruto had no friends. While the Third Hokage's orders remained in effect, the younger generation picked up on their parents and the older generations' hatred and fear of Naruto, and responded in kind. Often, hatred is a learned trait. Naruto, puzzled by their hatred, began to believe that even his parents shared this hatred, and abandoned him, unknowing that they had sacrificed their lives for the good of the village. Without a name for them, and with nobody to talk to, he had no method of tracking them down.

His youth was moulded by the hate of those who surrounded him. The Lord Third did what he could to shield Young Naruto from the scorn, but even as leader, he was just one man, and the hatred was embedded deep within Konaha's roots. It pained him greatly to learn that Naruto was a common visitor at the medical center, to be treated for broken bones and a bruised body. It pained him even more that he had to order the medical center to treat him. Sarutobi felt it was his mission to guide his people, to set an example, and in the days when he received reports of the young boy's abuse by the villagers, he felt the heavy weight of failure settle across his shoulders.

But, despite his failures with the villagers, Naruto was his pride and joy. A kind, caring boy, filled with laughter and light, a meddlesome prankster who strived for acknowledgement and respect. Sarutobi was no fool. He knew, underneath the grins and pranks, Naruto hated the villagers, even hated him for allowing the abuse to happen, but he couldn't help but swell with pride whenever he saw Naruto smile and strive for a better lot in life.

Which is why it was so troubling for the old man to be in the position he was in now. Sitting in his office, with Naruto across from him, the stubborn boy's arms crossed and his young (_"Why, barely a child of 6 years" thought the old man idly.) _face set in a defiant scowl. Sarutobi did what he could for Naruto, and when they could be spared, he had ANBU, Konaha's elite ninja special forces, keep an eye on the boy. So when, by pure chance, he sent one out to check on Naruto, only to receive a report back that the boy had awoken screaming at the top of his lungs, and worse, that he had attacked his land lord with a knife kept under the pillow (_such a young boy to take such precautions_, he thought, _with a heavy sigh_) with the intent to kill after he had received complaints and went to quite the boy.

If it weren't for the ANBU, the Landlord would have likely been permanently wounded, instead of being treated for minor cuts. Young Naruto though, was the real concern. Never before had the boy shown such unstable behavior. Why, despite the abuse, before today Sarutobi had the utmost confidence that Naruto had one of the most stable minds in the village, young child or not.

With another heavy sigh, Sarutbi took a puff of his favored pipe, and held the smoke in for a second. A look of contemplation on his face, he gradually let it out, and looked back at the young boy in front of him. "Naruto," the old man began, his voice heavy with emotion, "I've said what I need to say here today. I've asked what was wrong, with no aide given from you. I understand life has been difficult for you (A flicker in the young boys eyes, noted the old man), but your actions today are irreconcilable. This is beyond any prank. You've never shown malice before, my boy, and I don't truly believe you did today. I can't in good faith imprison you, a child who may have suffered from something as simple as a nightmare." The old man took another hit from is pipe. "However, nor can I allow you to walk away unpunished. You will leave me for today, while I devise a suitable solution that is fair to both you, and the one you unjustly harmed. Dismissed"

With a heavy heart, Sarutobi watched the young boy, his pride and joy, get up from his chair. It pained him. He had always thought so highly of Naruto, and throughout the entire discussion he had been keeping a careful eye on the boy and his reactions. Not a single ounce of regret or remorse. The boy didn't feel sorry for hurting the land lord. By all accounts, there was no love lost between the two, but the 3rd had hoped, deep in his heart, that empathy and remorse from the boy would extend even to his abusers. And Naruto's eyes. "Have I really let it go that far" Sarutobi said aloud. He had noticed the boy's eyes. Hardly fitting for such a young child, those eyes belonged to someone who had seen war, who had known true loss. They had been the eyes of a ninja experienced in battle.

Just a week prior he had sat with Naruto, his bright eyes jovial as he ate a bowl of Ramen at Itciraku's. A place Naruto had taken a liking to, and one of the few businesses in the village that the boy was granted entry. They had not been the eyes of a soldier, then. They had not been the eyes of a ninja.

Something had happened to his precious Naruto. Sarutobi felt anger bubble within his old chest. Someone had hurt one of his precious people. Someone had "damaged" the boy in ways that were irreversible. He would find out what brought about this change in his precious Naruto, and may all the gods across all the lands have mercy on the soul of whoever had wronged him, because Sarutobi swore to himself that he would personally deliver the reckoning. With a glance at his desk, littered with paperwork and reports, the 3rd smiled grimly, realizing that like most of his other promises, that one would go unfulfilled, it's weight buried under the responsibilities of leader.

So… Yeah, I didn't want to do a chapter about Naruto just waking up in the past right away and him trying to adjust. Instead, I went the route where those closest to him would notice a difference and wonder what happened. That, during this time, could only mean it was the Third Hokage. So… Yeah.


	3. Chapter 3 The War Torn Boy

Don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 3. The War Torn Boy**

Naruto left the third Hokage's office, head still swimming from his recent transition and the emotional strain of having seen the old man again. Truth be told, he hadn't expected the Nine-tails to take him quite so far back. It was a strange experience, being flung through time. Feeling his bones crack and compress, his chakra levels drain, his strength leave him. "T_cch, stupid fox didn't have to leave me conscious through the thing"_ thought Naruto in annoyance. "_Still, it worked."_

As Naruto began his decent down to ground level, he found himself reflecting upon the turn of events that led him here. The demon foxes offer had surprised Naruto. The creature had nothing to gain from such a move, and even the demanded price hadn't been one overly useful to it. Certainly, a high price, but one Naruto couldn't see an advantage in for the fox. But still, Naruto was apprehensive, and feeling more than a little guilty. The war was over. The Akatsuki were no more. The Elemental Nations on better terms than they had ever been before. But in the final battle, the cost had been too great. Sakura had fallen in battle, protecting him from a last desperate attack from an enemy shinobi.

With a shake of his head, Naruto forced such thoughts from his mind. He knew accepting the Nine-Tails offer gave the Akatsuki another chance at their war, one that they might succeed at. He wasn't ever the smartest guy around, but he knew enough to be certain events would hardly play out as he was familiar with. More, The Akatsuki were still an incredibly dangerous group of highly skilled Ninja, with connections hidden deep within the Hidden Villages. They would have to be, in order to wage the war they planned. Naruto had to play things straight. Any undo rumors, any odd movements that the Akatsuki picked up on and planned around, and Naruto knew things could quickly spiral out of his control.

As he walked back to his home, Naruto looked around the village. Long since used to the stares of hatred the villagers had given him, he was surprised at how much it hurt to see them again. He had worked hard to gain their respect, their love, and even their loyalty. He'd have to do so again, he knew, but it would be a process. Already his keen ears were picking up the whispered rumors the villagers were passing amongst each other. The news of him attacking someone had already spread. "_I'll have to do something about that", _thought the boy.

Really, Naruto did feel bad about attacking his land lord. But the shock of being flung through time had really gotten to him. Even being conscious as he was, the event was disorienting, and he couldn't stop himself from screaming in pain and fear.

Already a plan swirled in his head to make amends, but it would have to wait. It was a cloudy day, with wind blowing and the sun shining. That could only mean one thing. Shikamaru would be out cloud watching. Even as a kid, Naruto remembered him being lazy. But still, during the war, he and Naruto had grown close. Perhaps closer than Naruto and Sasuke ever had, and while Shikimaru would have no clue, Naruto knew he would need the Nara boy to see his plans through. Or, really, to make any plans work.

With a firm reassurance that things would be ok, and that he wouldn't lose his dream this time around, Naruto Uzumaki made a quick adjustment to his route. He would need some chips for Choji if there was any chance for this to work.

The Akatsuki.

The Villagers.

Even old man Hokage.

Naruto had to keep them all of his back. He had to keep them all unaware. Any progression seen as to rapid, and the Akatsuki would respond in kind. Any strength shown would be noted. With a steeled resolved, Naruto knew what his first step was going to be. It was like a giant game of Shogi, with history itself as the board. Any move could be countered. Any counter could be exploited. Naruto was about to make the first move.

He was going to go get his Shogi player.

**Asffdf **

**That's the end of chapter 3. I'm finding dialogue a bit difficult, so it's going to be rusty. Again, I will get better. Like I said, it's been awhile since I've wrote anything. I might put out oneshots here and there to try and correct that, or a chapter here and there like the last, one that's more intended to expand and show other characters feelings on a certain thing to help improve that. **

**Obviously, I kind of suck at this point, and I don't plan on continuing that trend. Not my favorite chapter here, but a needed on. I've noticed (and it was also so kindly pointed out in a review) that I've misspelled Konoha in the last chapter. I'll get around to fixing that as well. **


End file.
